Education is compulsory and so is school uniform. The making of school uniform compulsory is a matter for each of Havering’s 18 academies. They choose to enforce compulsory uniform; it is not an obligation imposed by the government. One element is the school tie. They can cost anything up to £10 and have no impact on learning. Demanding the students wear a school tie or be banned from school is enforcing a quasi-tax. School ties reflect a by-gone era when they were routinely worn by adults. That era has long gone. Schools should catch up on social reality.

School ties are a tax on learning – YouTube This podcast is 3 minutes long